Printing-press.



No. 63|,745. Patented Aug, 22V, |899.

B. HUBER & w. K. HoDGMAN.

. PRINTING PRESS.

(Applicatiun led Nov, 29, 1898*. l (No Model.) v4

Inveadrs.

` UNITED STATES y PATENT @Enron BERTI-IOLD HUBER AND WILLIS K. HODGMAN, OF TAUNTON, MASSACHU- SETTS, ASSIGNORS TO THE HUBER PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF

SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 631,745, dated August 22, 1899. Application filed November 29, 1898. Serial No. 697,753. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: v

Beit known that we, BEETHOLD HUBER and WILLIS K. HODGMAN, resident-s of Taunton,

in the county of Bristol, State of Massachuprinted, and another cylinder designated as the form or plate cylinder. Heretofore in this class of press, as illustrated in United States Patent No. 350,056, dated September 28, 1896, these cylinders are rotated continuously at a uniform speed; but at a highl rate of speed the gripper mechanism is at times liable to operate inaccurately, it starting the sheets suddenly from the feedboard, the sudden or uneven starting being apt to cause a slight variation in the position of the sheet on the impression-cylinder, so as to cause a slight non-register, which is objectionable, for the better and morel accurate the register the better and more desirable the ress. In anotherUnited States patent, No. 608,153, dated July 26, 1898, the plate or form cylinder is adapted to be rotated at a uniform speed at all times, but the impression-cylinder is rotated at a varying speed, the speed of the impression-cylinder being the'slowest at the time the grippers act to take the sheet from the usual feed-board.

Being desirous of producing a press having the highest state of efficiency both as to speed and correctness of register, so that it may be readily adapted to the work to be done, ,we have aimed to produce a press in which the impression and the form or plate cylinders may not only be driven at a uniform speed, but also be driven in unison at a varying speed during each rotation, such a form of press being highly advantageous for use in printing establishments where work is changing.

XVe have attained the object of our invention by the construction of the press to be herein described. In this novel press the im- `the sheet.

pression-cylinder has usual grippers to take the sheet and the form or plate cylinder is Vconnected with it by gearing, so that said two cylinders always move in unison; but we have added to these old parts a driving mechanism which may be so set or adjusted that the two cylinders may be driven at a uniform rate of speed during each rotation or they may be driven at a varying rate of speed, that depending upon the amount of time it is desired to afford for the grippers to act to take the sheet easily and uniformly from the feedboard, or it will be understood that the cylinders may be moved more or less slowly during the time the grippers are acting to take This variation may be within any desired range and in some instances would practically slow down the speed to about twothirds of its uniform speed during the gripping action, so that, provided the press was running at a uniform speed of eighteen hundred revolutions per hour, the effect of changing the speed of the cylinders to a varying speed would reduce such speed at the time the sheet is taken by the grippers to a speed equal to twelve hundred revolutions per hour, and it will therefore be seen that by using the driving mechanism to be herein described the same quality of work so far as regards register can be done at eighteen hundred sheets per hour as could be done at the uniform rate of speed of twelve hundred sheets per hour.

Figure 1, in side elevation, represents a sufficient portion of awell-known form of press with our improvements added to enable our invention to be understood. Fig. 2 is a seetion of Fig. l in the line fr, looking toward the left.

Referring to thedrawings, A represents the framework of a press; B, the usual feedboard; C, the impression cylinder, having usual grippers c to take the sheet from the feed-board; D, the form or plate cylinder, and c d toothed surfaces connected, resp'ectively, with the impression-cylinder and the form or plate cylinder,by which they are made to rotate in unison.

The impression-cylinder has its shaft C shown as mounted in a movable bearing or box C2, adjustably supported in a slot in the framework. The form or plate cylinder shaft teeth of and rotates a driving device or gear F, shown as supported upon a stud e', carried bya frame or bearing ez, which has as its fulconstituting one of the bearings for the shaft E. This stand or frame is slotted, as at 2 3 4, to receive, respectively, set-screws 5 6 7, so that by loosening said screws the said frame or bearing may be adjusted axially about the shaft E. This frame may be put in such position that the stud e will stand substantially central with relation to the shaft D', or the frame may be adjusted to place said stud c more or less eccentric with relation to the shaft D'. The drawings show the frame 'adj usted into position to place the stud e' at its greatest distance from the center of4 rotation of the shaft D'.

The driving wheel or device F has a slot f, in which enter the crank -pin and box referred to, and as the driving-wheelis rotated the slotted part thereof acting on the crankpin or block'causes the form or pla-te cylinder to be rotated by the driving wheel or device,

and inasmuch as the impression-'cylinder and form or `plate cylinder Lare geared together it follows that the im pression-cylinder partakes of the movements of the form or plate cylinder and is moved in unison with it.

When the stand or bearing constituting the means for supporting the driving Wheel or device Fis so located as to place the stud e' substantially central with relation to the shaft D', then the driving device will rot-ate both the form or plate cylinder and the impressioncylinder in unison and at the same speed throughout each rotation; but when the stand or bearing e2 is adjusted to place the stud c cccentrically with relation to the 'shaft D then in such case the speed of each rotation of the form or plate cylinder and the impression-cylinder will be varied, and the variation will be greater in accordance with the greater eccentricity of rotation of the stud e. 'When the location of the driving device is eccentric with relation to the form or plate cylinder, then the surface speed of the said cylinder and the impression-cylinder will be slowed down more or less j ust at the time that the grippers c are acting to take the sheet, as stated.

It is of great moment and a matter of great practical advantage and utility to be able to run the press at times at a uniform speed of rotation throughoutand at other times to vary the speed of each rotation, Vas thereby the press is adapted to do a greater variety of good work.

This invention is not limited to the exact shape shown for the stand or for the driving device, as instead any other usual or known equivalent means may be employed. We are not aware, however, that prior to this invention a press has ever been made wherein the user had it within his control to drive the cylinders at a uniform speed or at a variable speed, according to the work to be performed, and hence'this invention is considered to be a broad one and is not limited tothe exact device or mechanism shown by which to con- .j trol the variations of speed at each rotation. crum a hub e3, projected from the stand E',

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a rotary printing-press wherein the sheets to be printed are fed separately 'to grippers carried by the impression-cylinder, vd riving mechanism adapted to drive the cylinders at a uniform speed or at a varying speed for the purpose specified.

2. In a rotary printing-press, an impressioncylinder having suitable grippers to take the sheets to be printed and a cooperating form or plate cylinder, gearing to move them in unison, and driving mechanism in operative engagement with one of said cylinders, said driving mechanism being adjustable whereby said cylinders may be driven at a varying speed during each rotation, or at a uniform speed during each rotation, substantially as described.

3. In a rotary printing-press, an impressioncylinder having-suitable grippers to take the sheets to be prin-ted, and a cooperating form or plate cylinder, gearing to insure the movement of the impression-cylinder and form or plate cylinder .in unison, driving mechanism consisting ot a toothed wheel, a pin-and-slot connection between said wheel and one of said cylinders, and an adjustable stand supporting the center of motion of said gear, and a pinion driving said gear, to operate substantially as described.

4. In a printing-press, an impression-cylinder provided with grippers to take sheets to be printed, and a cooperating form or plate cylinder and toothed gearing unitingthe same to insure their rotation in unison, a drivingshaft having a pinion, a frame adjustable about the center of said driving-shaft and provided with a stud, a driving-gear mounted on said stud, a pin-and-slot connection bctween said driving-gear and one of said cylinders, and means to adjust said frame to place the said stud in a more or less eccentric position with relation to the center of rotation of the cylinder to be driven by it, to operate substantially as described.

' In testimony whereof we have signed our nalnes to this specicatio'n in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BERTHOLD HUBER. WILLIS K. I-IODGMAN.

Witnesses:

SAML. L. IIODGMAN, FREDK. M. ATwooD.

IOO 

